Mortgage-claim MP set to step down

Former environment minister Elliot Morley is expected to become the 13th MP to step down in the wake of expenses revelations.

Mr Morley, who claimed £16,000 over 18 months for a mortgage that did not exist, has already been suspended by the Labour Party.

Scotland Yard is also considering whether to launch a criminal probe.

The Scunthorpe MP said he is arranging a meeting with his local party association, but refused to confirm he will inform activists he is standing aside at the next general election. "I will release a statement after I have spoken to them," he added.

Meanwhile, the 12 MPs who already plan to stand down at the next election in the wake of revelations over their expenses will cost the taxpayer more than £1 million.

If the general election is not called until next spring, their salaries will cost more than £600,000 combined. And generous "resettlement grants" will see MPs receive between £32,000 and £65,000 each on leaving office.

The MPs - including Tory Julie Kirkbride and Labour's Margaret Moran, who announced their intention to quit on Thursday - are also in line for gold-plated pensions.

The resettlement grant, which is payable at the next general election, is calculated on a sliding scale according to an MP's age and their length of service in the Commons. The first £30,000 is tax-free.

Tory Douglas Hogg, who quit after revelations about his moat-cleaning expenses, will receive just under £60,000 in the "redundancy" payout if an election is called after February next year.

Both Ms Kirkbride and Tory Christopher Fraser - who claimed more than £1,800 to buy 215 trees and fencing - will both receive £32,000. Ms Kirkbride's husband and fellow Tory MP Andrew MacKay is set to get around £65,000.